Marlins hope newcomers pay off in building a better bullpen
The Marlins’ biggest need this offseason is well known. They are seeking improvements to their offense that so far have come up empty.
But the team has a secondary need it is attempting to address before the 2023 season begins March 30. The Marlins, once again, are trying to improve their bullpen to complement a starting rotation led by National League Cy
Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara.
The organization has made a couple moves on that front, acquiring JT Chargois from the Tampa Bay Rays and selecting Nic Enright in the Rule 5 Draft, but it looks as if the rest of the improvements will come from within.
The Marlins have 14 players on their current 40-man roster who will compete for what should be eight bullpen spots.
“That’s the great thing about the 40-man roster,” general manager Kim Ng said last week at MLB’s Winter Meetings. “Everybody’s got a fair shot. You’re going into spring training to make the club.”
Here’s a look at the contenders:
HIGH-LEVERAGE RETURNERS
The Marlins return their primary quartet of highleverage relievers in Dylan Floro, Tanner Scott, Richard Bleier and Steven Okert.
Floro projects to be the favorite for closing duties after ending each of his two seasons with the Marlins in that role. Floro had a 1.77 ERA over his final 37 appearances last season, the majority of which were high-leverage, after pitching to a 5.50 ERA in his first 19 outings.
Scott served as Miami’s closer for most of the season and converted 20 of 27 opportunities. His 35.7 percent swing-andmiss rate ranked in the 96th percentile of MLB last season. However, Scott also walked 46 of the 289 batters he faced in 2022 — nearly 16 percent.
Bleier, who signed a two-year deal that runs through the 2023 season and includes an option for 2024, had a 5.59 ERA at the end of June before pitching to a 2.30 ERA during his final 31 appearances.
Okert was steady in a setup role before ending the season on the injured list with left triceps tightness. But like Scott, Okert’s walk rate was bad — 11.8 percent.
Anthony Bender, who opened the 2022 season as the Marlins’ closer, will likely miss all of the 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
THE TWO ACQUISITIONS
Chargois, 32, has some experience in high-leverage situations and will likely be in the mix for setup duties for Miami. He has a 2.49 ERA over the past two seasons.
Enright, 25, was the Guardians’ 20th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and finished the 2022 season with Cleveland’s Triple A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. In 37 innings over 29 appearances with the Clippers, Enright posted a
2.68 ERA with 50 strikeouts against just six walks while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
THE ADDED PROSPECTS
The Marlins last month added four relief pitchers to the 40-man roster in Sean Reynolds, Josh Simpson, George Soriano and Eli Villalobos. Ng said last week that she anticipates at least a couple of them factoring into the
big-league equation.
Reynolds is the interesting one of the bunch. The Marlins picked him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft as a first baseman, but he failed to produce with his bat. They converted him to a reliever in 2021 and he has been a quick riser ever since. He reached Double A last season and has 103 strikeouts against 47 walks with a .206 batting average against in 84 1⁄3 career innings.
Simpson, a 32nd-round pick in 2019 out of Columbia, has emerged as one of the top relief prospects in Miami’s system. The 25-year-old lefty had a 3.97 ERA with 112 strikeouts against 34 walks while holding opponents to a .177 batting average against over 68 innings (55 2⁄3 with Double A Pensacola, 12 1⁄3 with Triple A Jacksonville) last season.
Villalobos, a 14th-round pick in 2018, pitched to a 2.86 ERA in 52 appearances (40 in Double A, 12 in Triple A) and logged 14 saves in 18 opportunities. He struck out 101 and walked 29 in 78 2⁄3 innings.
Soriano, an international free-agent signing in
2015, has split time between starting and relieving before moving primarily to a bullpen role in 2022, during which he had a 2.72 ERA in 40 games (six starts), with eight saves in 11 opportunities.
THE REST OF THE GROUP
That leaves Huascar Brazoban, Daniel Castano, Tommy Nance and Andrew Nardi.
Brazoban who spent the past four years playing in various leagues not affiliated with MLB before signing a minor-league deal with the Marlins last offseason, pitched to a 3.09 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 32 innings as a 32-year-old rookie.
Castano, a lefty, has primarily been a starter but can be used in longrelief if needed. He has a career 3.89 ERA in 22 games (17 starts).
Nance posted a 4.33 ERA over 35 appearances, striking out 57 over 43 2⁄3 innings and was mainly used in middle relief. Nardi took his lumps in his first taste of the big leagues, pitching to a 9.82 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 14 2⁄3 innings.